Mulan's Fight: Escape
by pistonsfan75
Summary: Starts out the same as Mulan's Fight: Never Back Down, but is three one shots with different twists. Ping's gender was revealed after the avalanche, but only Shang knows. He'll keep her secret, but at a price. What will happen if her comrades help her escape? Changing rating to M due to subject matter. Trigger warning: deals with subject of rape. Pretty Boy has a dark side.
1. Chapter 1

The instant her tent entrance opened late that night, Mulan knew the army captain would not keep her secret for free. 

It had been revealed that Fa Ping was actually a female when she was slashed by Shan Yu's sword and passed out after the avalanche. The army doctor had discovered her secret and told Captain Shang. He had come in to her tent and stared for a moment then left without a word after she had sat up and told him she could explain everything. 

He had managed to keep Chi Fu from finding out that Mulan was a girl after giving the doctor an order not to tell anyone else.

Had Chi Fu found out, he would have insisted on her death based on the law. So by Shang keeping her secret, he was protecting his bravest soldier from being beheaded.  
Or was that the real reason at all?

Now here he was in her tent, late at night and everyone else was sleeping except the soldiers on night watch. Once his intention became clear, she tried to fight him off but to no avail. Shang was much stronger.

She didn't scream because he warned her not to lest other soldiers came in and joined him, and she refused to let him see her cry. She just stared at her helmet until she saw her terrified reflection staring back at her. Then she focused on the tent ceiling while her commanding officer raped her. 

When Shang finally left, taking her innocence with him, she picked up her sword and stared at it. So this was the cost of secrecy. Worse than a beheading. She'd rather fight Shan Yu 100 times than face Shang again. 

No other soldiers knew Fa Ping was really a girl. No one except her commanding officer. It appeared he intended to keep it that way and keep her all to himself.

That day, they broke camp and headed through the pass to the Imperial City. They set up camp just outside the perimeter. As the last fires were stamped out, she was filled with dread. 

Yao, Ling and Chien Po remained outside their tents talking, so she stayed out and shot the breeze with them until she heard a stern "lights out, soldiers". 

Shit. She had to go to her tent. Alone. But how long would she be alone for? When she heard footsteps approach, she knew last night's ordeal was to be repeated.

Mulan no longer doubted that rape was worse than death. But still, she didn't let Shang see her cry. She managed to leave bruises, bites and deep scratches on Shang's face, neck, and chest. He got his way, but not without a big fight. She was a skilled soldier and she used his own training techniques against him.

After he left, she reached for her sword but it was gone. Her daggers were also mysteriously gone. 

The next morning, the regiment of soldiers was informed they would all remain on guard near the palace indefinitely. There had been possible sightings of Shan Yu and his troops in the mountains, and there was rumors that they had dug themselves out after the avalanche. 

Mulan was put on watch with Shang during the last part of the evening, every night. It seemed he was always nearby, making her escape impossible.

To the rest of the Chinese army, she was Fa Ping, a courageous young male soldier who had single-handedly buried most of the Hun army in an avalanche after firing a cannon at a snowy slope as they had raced towards the remnants of the Chinese army. The other soldiers respected her.

But Shang, newly promoted to General, knew otherwise. He usually showed up at her tent soon after Ling, Yao and Chien Po took over the night watch, sometimes staying all night. 

Week after week of this went by. Every night, Shang showed up at her tent. Probably anticipating she would use them on him, he had taken her sword and daggers out of her tent, and inconspicuously returned them to her for their night watches. When their watch was done and no one was looking, he'd take them again.

One night Mulan was able to sneak a dagger into her tent. As she tried to fight to keep him from taking it, she managed to superficially slash his chest twice and belly once. But he grabbed it, slapping and punching her and whispered "You can't escape. I will always win, so stop fighting me. " Then he held it to her throat. "Cut me like that one more time and I'll kill you."

Mulan would never stop fighting. That she knew. The Fa's never back down. Ever.  
She had been determined to join the army. Now she was twice as determined to leave.

That night, after Monster Boy left, Mulan snuck out of her tent. Quietly, she made her way to where her three closest friends Yao, Ling and Chien Po stood night guard.

"I need a favor."

"Anything, Ping, what is it?"

"First of all, I'm actually a girl. My name is Mulan and I joined to save my father. Second, the general knows this and has been in my tent every night for weeks forcing me. Third, I'm pregnant. Fourth, I need you three to distract him tomorrow night so I can make a run for it. Sound the alarm that Huns were spotted attempting to enter the palace on the opposite side of where my tent is. Keep him there as long as you can. Check everywhere. Then play dumb when you hear anything about me deserting the army. Think you guys can pull it off?"

The shock showed in their faces, but so did anger and determination.

"Definitely. We can do that. We'll miss you, Mulan, but you need to get away from here." Chien Po gave her a half-hug.

Yao cracked his knuckles and looked at Ling. "We'll take care of this guy after you go, won't we boys?"

"Damn right we will." Ling agreed.

Chien Po gave a serious look to the other two. "On my ancestor's grave. He won't get away with this."

When the 3 took over watch that next night, Yao winked at Mulan when Shang wasn't looking. Shortly after she started to walk back to her tent, with Shang close behind her as always, the alarm sounded. Then she heard Ling yell for Shang.

As soon as the general was out of sight, Yao grabbed Mulan by the arm and pulled her to her tent and helped her tie up her things into a bundle. Chien Po came around the corner with Kahn and helped her mount up.

Then she and Kahn raced off while Yao and Chien Po ran over to where Shan Yu had supposedly been spotted. Of course, after a thorough inspection in and around the palace, he wasn't found. But the three soldiers made sure to check every possible hiding spot at least twice, with Shang in tow, just to be sure. Mulan should be long gone by now. 

Shang headed off towards Mulan's tent after the alarm was over but came out seconds later and looked around. He walked over to where Kahn was usually tied, but her horse was also gone. He called out for Ping, but there was no answer and since everyone else but night watch was asleep, no one had seen her .

Angrily, he stormed to his own tent. The little bitch had escaped while he was occupied.

Yao high-fived his two comrades. "Boys, we did ourselves proud tonight. We helped Mulan escape so she can go home and have her baby. Next we'll deal with the general. Now we just better remember to play dumb when we hear anything about Ping deserting the army."

Mulan had been on the road over 2 hours by this time. She was still shaking. She couldn't believe she finally got to escape. She knew she could count on Yao, Ling and Chien Po and hoped to see them again one day.

Continuing to head toward home, she began to try to figure out her next move. Her baby would be born in about 6 months, she estimated. She would be 17.

Should she go home and make up some cockamany story about why she was pregnant or tell her parents the truth? If her father found out, he may try to kill Shang for dishonoring his daughter. If he failed, he would be killed for making an attempt on the general's life.

Mulan decided to tell them the truth when she arrived home. She told them how Shang had discovered she was a female and kept it to himself and started attacking her every night. That she was pregnant. How Yao, Ling and Chien Po helped her escape and had promised to deal with General Shang. Her mother and grandmother wept and pulled her close to them and let her cry in their arms.

Predictably, her father was livid. Mulan had never seen him so angry. He stormed out of the house and she saw him in the temple, praying. He stayed there for hours. He only hoped these three friends would make good on their promise.

Finally safe at home, Mulan slept soundly for the first time in months, next to her parents. Even though she no longer laid in terror waiting for Shang to appear, she couldn't sleep alone. Not yet. She slept all the next day and the next night.

Time went on. The Hun war ended. Mulan gave birth to a son that she named Zhou after his grandfather.

One day she had a visitor. Yao. She told her family about how he had been one of the soldiers who helped her escape. He told them how the general had been killed by Shan Yu after they found a way to make it happen.

"We had to make a deal with the devil to get rid of the bastard. But once Shan Yu had taken care of the general, we took care of Shan Yu."

Now a different man was general and there wasn't a corrupt bone in him.

"Thank you. I am forever grateful to you for helping my daughter." Fa Zhou told Yao, putting his hand and fist together and bowing low.

A few months later, they were married and he took her child on as his son. He was the only father baby Zhou was raised to know.

Fa Zhou wanted to know how the 3 soldiers got rid of General Shang with Shan Yu's help, then pulled off killing Shan Yu. So while Mulan was out for a ride on Khan, he asked him.

They had gone out into the mountains during the night and found where the Huns were camped out. They approached the night watch and said they wanted to speak with Shan Yu. When he appeared, they told him they needed him to dispose of their general for them after he had repeatedly raped and impregnated a female soldier who was their good friend. Of course, Shan Yu saw nothing wrong with the general's behavior and said so, but he jumped at the chance to take out a general of his enemy's army.

He would hide in Ping's tent. The three soldiers would tell General Shang that Ping had returned and was in his tent.

What Shan Yu didn't know was that the three intended to fire two cannons at the tent as soon as Shang went inside. They knew they would only have a few seconds once Shang was in the tent. If he came out again, they would be beheaded for treason. If Shan Yu left the tent he would probably start attacking the Imperial army.

It worked, but barely.

General Shang looked shocked when Yao told him Ping was back and had gone into his own tent. He got an evil smile on his face. Just before he went in the tent, Chien Po and Ling lit the cannons. They heard a shout and the tent door started to open when the cannons went off, killing both inhabitants instantly.

In one shot, Mulan's rape was avenged and China's worst enemy was defeated.

After that, the Imperial army was able to kill most of the Huns. Another soldier was made general after it was reported that General Li Shang had been killed by Shan Yu, and that they had fired the cannons after seeing the Hun leader sneak into the tent after killing General Li. Only the three friends knew the truth about how the general really died.


	2. Chapter 2

The instant her tent entrance opened late that night, Mulan knew the army captain would not keep her secret for free. 

It had been revealed that Fa Ping was actually a female when she was slashed by Shan Yu's sword and passed out after the avalanche. The army doctor had discovered her secret and told Captain Shang. He had come in to her tent and stared for a moment then left without a word after she had sat up and told him she could explain everything. 

He had managed to keep Chi Fu from finding out that Mulan was a girl after giving the doctor an order not to tell anyone else.

Had Chi Fu found out, he would have insisted on her death based on the law. So by Shang keeping her secret, he was protecting his bravest soldier from being beheaded. But was that the real reason?

Now here he was in her tent, late at night and everyone else was sleeping except the soldiers on night watch. Once his intention became clear, she tried to fight him off but to no avail. Shang was much stronger.

She didn't scream because he warned her not to lest other soldiers heard and joined him and she refused to let him see her cry. She just stared at her helmet until she saw her terrified reflection staring back at her. Then she focused on the tent ceiling while her commanding officer raped her. 

When Shang finally left, taking her innocence with him, she picked up her sword and stared at it. So this was the cost of secrecy. Worse than a beheading. She'd rather fight Shan Yu and 100 Hun soldiers than face Shang again. 

No other soldiers knew Fa Ping was really a girl. No one except her commanding officer. It appeared he intended to keep it that way and keep her all to himself. She would never overcome this dishonor.

Raising the sword to her chest, she intended to pierce her heart. Just at that moment, she heard "Hey, Ping, Where are ya?" and realized it was past dawn. Yao opened her tent and stared at her. "What are you doing?" She rushed out of her tent as fast as possible, but her body was sore from her struggle with Shang. 

That day, they broke camp and headed through the pass to the Imperial City. They set up camp just outside the perimeter. As the last fires were stamped out, she was filled with dread. 

Yao, Ling and Chien Po remained outside their tents talking, so she stayed out and shot the breeze with them until she heard a stern "lights out, soldiers". 

Shit. She had to go to her tent. Alone. But how long would she be alone for? When she heard footsteps approach, she knew last night's ordeal was to be repeated.

Mulan no longer doubted that rape was worse than death. But still, she didn't let Shang see her cry. She managed to leave bruises, bites and deep scratches on Shang's face, neck, and chest. He got his way, but not without a big fight. She was a skilled soldier and she used his own training techniques against him.

After he left, she reached for her sword to take her own life, but it was gone. He must have grabbed it as he'd gotten dressed, knowing that would be her next move. Her daggers were also mysteriously gone. Suicide was her only escape, but he had just taken that away. 

The next morning, the regiment of soldiers was informed they would all remain on guard near the palace indefinitely. There had been possible sightings of Shan Yu and his troops in the mountains, and there was rumors that they had dug themselves out after the avalanche. 

Mulan was put on watch with Shang during the last part of the evening, every night. It seemed he was always nearby, making her escape or suicide impossible.

To the rest of the Chinese army, she was Fa Ping, a courageous young male soldier who had single-handedly buried most of the Hun army in an avalanche after firing a cannon at a snowy slope as they had raced towards the remnants of the Chinese army. The other soldiers respected her.

But Shang, newly promoted to General, knew otherwise. He usually showed up at her tent soon after Ling, Yao and Chien Po took over the night watch, sometimes staying all night. 

Week after week of this went by. Every night, Shang showed up at her tent. Probably anticipating she would commit suicide or use them on him, he had taken her sword and daggers out of her tent, and inconspicuously returned them to her for their night watches. When their watch was done and no one was looking, he'd take them again.

One night Mulan was able to sneak a dagger into her tent. Shang must have figured it out because he came in soon after and grabbed her arm as she was about to plunge the dagger into her chest. As she tried to fight, she managed to superficially slash his chest twice. But he grabbed it, slapping and punching her and whispered "You can't escape. I will always win, so stop fighting me. " Then he held it to her throat. "Cut me like that again and I'll kill you."

Mulan would never stop fighting. That she knew. The Fa's never back down. Ever. 

Now Mulan was almost positive she was pregnant. Fatigue and nausea plagued her daily. Shang figured it out and started punching her in the belly all the time, but she never miscarried.

Other soldiers noticed 'Ping' wasn't 'himself'. She blamed it on homesickness and recovering from being slashed by Shan Yu's sword. No one else knew her secret, so no one suspected otherwise.

Yao had seen it happen several nights in a row. Shortly after him, Ling and Chien Po would take over night watch every night, General Shang would go into Ping's tent. Sometimes for a little while, other times all night. Every night, without fail.

When he tried to ask Ping about it, he just looked at Yao with shock and walked away.

So he waited till Shang went into Ping's tent that night and hid close enough to the tent that he could hear what went on. It wasn't what he expected at all.

It sounded like a struggle. He heard things being banged around, and angry words being exchanged and what sounded like slaps and a female's cries of pain and then grunts and more slaps and bangs. Then after Shang left, he heard what sounded like a female crying.

What in the world?  
Was Ping really a woman?

The next night was the same. And the next night sounded even more violent. On the other side of the tent wall, he listened to Ping gasping and crying until he couldn't stand it any longer.

Now that he knew what was happening, action must be taken. He snuck back to his post and told Ling and Chien Po. They agreed that they all needed to intervene, and fast.

If they could distract Shang, then Ping could escape. Confronting him was not an option. That would just make him take it out on Ping all the worse.

Ling would claim to have seen Hun soldiers near the palace, on the opposite side from Ping's tent and lead Shang into the palace to look for them. While he did this, Chien Po and Yao would help her escape.

Yao noticed Ping's face looked puffy and bruised the next day. She was very quiet and didn't eat.

The night before had been the worst attack ever. Mulan really thought she was going to be strangled to death.

That night Yao hid behind Ping's tent again. It was all he could do not to run in and stop Shang as he heard the struggle and Ping's cries. Who would have guessed the general was such a monster?

After Shang left her tent to return to his own, Yao snuck through the door to relay the plan. He stopped short, shocked.

Ping's hair was down and tangled like her hair tie had been roughly yanked out of her hair, her clothes were disheveled and half off and her nose was bleeding. She was crying. There was a bruise on her cheek and forehead and hand marks on her throat. She didn't see him right away because she was trying to dress and wipe away the blood from her face.

As soon as she saw Yao, she shrank back in terror. "No! Not you, too!"

"It's ok. I'm not here to hurt you. We're gonna help you escape."

"How did you know?"

"For the past several days I've seen Shang going to your tent every night and curiosity got the best of me, so I finally hid where he couldn't see me and listened. For the last 4 nights I've hid behind your tent and listened.

I'm sorry he's been doing this to you. Believe me, I wanted to kill him each night. Eventually, I will. Chien Po and Ling are helping me, too." Then he explained the plan to Ping.

"My name is Fa Mulan. My father is Fa Zhou. I ran away and took his place in the army because he was wounded in an old battle and still has injuries. He would have died if he'd gone. Thank you. I am forever indebted to you three for helping me escape."

"I'm pregnant now, thanks to Shang. This has been going on for several months, every night. I didn't think I'd ever get away from him. He watches me like a hawk and he won't let me keep weapons in my tent cuz he knows I'll either use them on him or on myself."

Yao ran back to his post and filled Ling and Chien Po in on Mulan's pregnancy and the condition he had just found her in. A woman and her unborn baby's life hung in the balance. Shang had nearly strangled her unconscious the previous night. They had to pull this off and pull it off right. They would deal with the corrupt general later, but right now getting the pregnant Mulan to safety was their biggest priority.

When the 3 took over watch that next night, Yao winked at Mulan when Shang wasn't looking. Shortly after she started to walk back to her tent, with Shang close behind her as always, the alarm sounded. Then she heard Ling yell for Shang.

As soon as the general was out of sight, Yao grabbed Mulan by the arm and pulled her to her tent and helped her tie up her things into a bundle. Chien Po came around the corner with Kahn and helped her mount up.

Then she and Kahn raced off while Yao and Chien Po ran over to where Shan Yu had supposedly been spotted. Of course, after a thorough inspection in and around the palace, he wasn't found. But the three soldiers made sure to check every possible hiding spot at least twice, with Shang in tow, just to be sure. Mulan should be long gone by now. 

Shang headed off towards Mulan's tent after the alarm was over but came out seconds later and looked around. He walked over to where Khan was usually tied, but her horse was also gone. He called out for Ping, but there was no answer and since everyone else but night watch was asleep, no one had seen her .

Angrily, he stormed to his own tent. The little bitch had escaped while he was occupied.

Yao high-fived his two comrades. "Boys, we did ourselves proud tonight. We helped Mulan escape and saved her and her baby's life. Next we'll deal with the general. Now we just better remember to play dumb when we hear anything about Ping deserting the army."

Mulan had been on the road over 2 hours by this time. She was still shaking. She couldn't believe she finally got to escape Shang's terror. It was amazing that Yao, Ling and Chien Po had cared enough to help her when they could've pretended nothing was going on. She hoped to see them again one day.

Continuing to head toward home, she began to try to figure out her next move. Her baby would be born in about 6 months, she estimated. She would be 17.

Should she go home and make up some cockamany marriage story about why she was pregnant or tell her parents the truth? If her father found out, he may try to kill Shang for dishonoring his daughter. If he failed, he would be killed.

Mulan decided to tell them the truth when she arrived home. She told them how Shang had discovered she was a female and kept it to himself and started attacking her every night. That she was pregnant. How Yao, Ling and Chien Po helped her escape and had told her they would deal with General Shang. Her mother and grandmother wept and pulled her close to them and let her cry in their arms.

Predictably, her father was livid. Mulan had never seen him so angry. He stormed out of the house and she saw him in the temple, praying. He stayed there for hours. All he could do was hold on to the hope that Mulan's three friends would make good on their promise to deal with the general.

Finally safe at home, Mulan slept soundly for the first time in months, next to her parents. Even though she no longer laid in terror waiting for Shang to appear, she couldn't sleep alone. Not yet. She slept all the next day and the next night.

Time went on. The Hun war ended. Mulan gave birth to a son that she called Zhou after his grandfather.

One day she had a visitor. Yao. She told her family about how he had hatched the plan for her escape after hiding behind her tent and discovering her plight. He told them how the general had been killed by Shan Yu after they found a way to make it happen.

"We had to make a deal with the devil to get rid of the bastard. But once Shan Yu had taken care of the general, we took care of Shan Yu."

Now a different man was general and there wasn't a corrupt bone in him.

"Thank you. I am forever grateful to you for helping my daughter." Fa Zhou told Yao, putting his hand and fist together and bowing low.

A few months later, they were married and he took her child on as his son. He was the only father baby Zhou was raised to know.

Fa Zhou wanted to know how the 3 soldiers got rid of General Shang with Shan Yu's help, then pulled off killing Shan Yu. So while Mulan was out for a ride on Khan, he asked him.

They had gone out into the mountains during the night and found where the Huns were camped out. They approached the night watch and said they wanted to speak with Shan Yu. When he appeared, they told him they needed him to dispose of their general for them after he had repeatedly raped and impregnated a female soldier who was their good friend. Of course, Shan Yu saw nothing wrong with the general's behavior and said so, but he jumped at the chance to take out a general of his enemy's army.

He would hide in Ping's tent. The three soldiers would tell General Shang that Ping had returned and was in his tent.

What Shan Yu didn't know was that the three intended to fire two cannons at the tent as soon as Shang went inside. They knew they would only have a few seconds once Shang was in the tent. If he came out again, they would be beheaded for treason. If Shan Yu left the tent he would probably start attacking the Imperial army.

It worked, but barely.

General Shang looked shocked when Yao told him Ping was back and had gone into his own tent. He got an evil smile on his face. Just before he went in the tent, Chien Po and Ling lit the cannons. They heard a shout and the tent door started to open when the cannons went off, killing both inhabitants instantly.

In one shot, Mulan's rape was avenged and China's worst enemy was defeated.

After that, the Imperial army was able to kill most of the Huns. Another soldier was made general after it was reported that General Li Shang had been killed by Shan Yu, and that they had fired the cannons after seeing the Hun leader sneak into the tent after killing General Li. Only the three friends knew the truth about how the general really died.


	3. Fa Zhou's Revenge

Fa Zhou was sitting on the stone bench when his daughter Mulan walked up to him. She'd been gone for six months, having taken his place in the army after he'd been drafted.

He expected she'd be different after having faced battle, but he wasn't prepared for the vacant look in her eyes or the bruises on her face, arms and neck. Her skin was pale and her body, thin.

"I missed you, Baba." Mulan threw her arms around his neck, and within moments was sobbing into his robe.

"It feels so good to be home! It's so safe here."

Fa Li and his mother joined them outside, having just fixed supper when they had seen Mulan return. Each adult took turns holding her while she hugged them and cried.

Mulan finally stopped crying, and sat down on the bench.

"I have something to tell all of you. It's not going to be easy to hear of it."

Fa Li pulled her to her feet. "Well, tell us over supper. The food is ready and probably cold and you look like you haven't eaten much in weeks."

After the dumplings and rice and tea had been served, Grandma Fa turned to Mulan. "What is it you need to tell us, Dear?"

"I was found out by my General a few months ago, after I got hit by Shan Yu's sword. Only he knew, along with the medic. He started coming to my tent every night and forcing me to have sex with him. My friend Yao figured out what was happening and, along with two other friends Chien Po and Ling, helped me to escape."

Fa Li and Grandma Fa both began to cry. Fa Zhou slammed his teacup down on the table. His face and neck were red and his eyes were huge.

"He what?"

Mulan started to cry. "Baba, please don't be mad at me. I tried to fight, I really did. But, I wasn't strong enough."

He walked over to where Mulan knelt at the table and put his arms around her. "I know you fought with everything you had. You were born with my fight and determination. I'm not angry with you, Mulan. I'm angry with the general. How dare he put his hands on you!"

Mulan pulled away. "There's more. I'm pregnant. The baby will be here in about six months."

Both her mother and grandma put their arms around her and the three of them all cried together. Fa Zhou knelt down again, staring straight ahead. After a few silent moments, he stalked off to the temple, angrier than he'd ever been in his life. He lit incense and stayed there for hours, praying.

Mulan had wanted to join her father in the temple, but her mother advised her to let him be alone. The young woman was too frightened to sleep alone, so her grandmother shared her own bed with her. After Mulan fell asleep, Fa Li joined her husband in the temple where he knelt with his eyes closed.

"Zhou, you are not going to do anything crazy, are you?"

He glanced at her and then shut his eyes in prayer again.

"Zhou? What are you planning?"

He finally turned to his wife and met her eyes. His own were still blazing with fury. "How dare that animal get away with what he did to our daughter! When she was born, I promised myself and the ancestors if any man ever forced himself on her, I would kill him. I must keep that promise."

"You could easily be killed. This family needs you."

"I cannot rest while he lives. My conscience will not allow me. I am Fa Zhou, the Emperor's fiercest warrior. No one who touches my daughter against her will survives." Then he stood up and left the temple.

Knowing his mind was made up, Fa Li followed him to where his armor lay on Mulan's bed. She'd left it there when she'd changed out of it before supper. With a few adjustments, he was able to put it on.

"You are leaving now?" She knew her husband's determination. He would not change his mind, now that it was bent on revenge.

"Yes, now. I will tell the General that I am here to take Mulan's place. Then I will kill him at first opportunity and leave."

After a half-day's journey, Fa Zhou reached where the Imperial army had made camp near the palace. They were providing guard for the palace and scouting for Huns who were believed to be hiding in the mountains after surviving the avalanche.

He went straight to General Li's tent after arriving, and introduced himself. It was late morning, and he received his assignment for night watch. At the mention of his daughter, he noticed the military official's face had turned red. If he was nervous at having his victim's father in such close proximity, he didn't let on.

Fa Zhou was taken to his daughter's tent, where he would also sleep. He noticed right away the specks of blood on the side and bottom of the tent, and his fists clenched. Mulan's blood! It spattered all over during the violent rapes she endured!

"I will not rest until he is dead", Fa Zhou told himself.

Taking his place by the palace that night, he watched the General's tent. It would be good to learn his habits.

Fa Zhou discovered he was guarding next to Yao, the young man who had helped Mulan escape being repeatedly raped by General Li after discovering her plight. Yao introduced him to Ling and Chien Po after learning who he was and his purpose there.

"I thank you young men for helping my daughter escape this monster."

"How is Mulan?"

"I left home just hours after learning what happened. She was afraid to sleep alone, and cried almost constantly. She was pale and thin, and covered with cuts and bruises. My wife and mother are caring for her. They'll nurse her back to life. But, in six months, she'll give birth to that monster's child."

"She was our friend while she was here. We'll help you carry out your revenge in any way we can."

"Yao, how did you discover what was being done to her?"

"I saw him going to her tent every night for weeks. I thought maybe they gambled together or something, so I hid behind her tent to find out. That's when I heard him raping her. I hid there for three nights, until I was sure of what was going on, then I told these two about it. We made a plan to raise a false alarm that Huns were near the palace. The next night, I hid behind her tent again and went in to talk to her after he left for the night."

Yao went silent, thinking of the condition he'd found Mulan in when he'd snuck into her tent one night after the vicious general had left.

"What is it, Yao?"

"I was thinking of how I found her when I snuck into her tent." He took a deep breath, knowing the rage that would soon grace this already angry father's features.

"And…"

"Her hair was down and tangled like her hair tie had been roughly yanked from her hair, her forehead and cheek were bruised, her nose was bleeding, and there were dark red handprints on her throat. I'd heard him choking her that night and the previous night, especially. We believe that if we hadn't intervened, he would have eventually killed her with his brutality."

Fa Zhou's rage was immediately evident.

His eyes grew enormous and his face reddened. He'd seen the bruises covering Mulan's head, neck and arms. Now he knew more of what was done to his daughter and his hands shook with the need to carry out his revenge.

"There is little drops of blood spattered all over the walls and the floor of her tent. Those beatings must have been vicious."

"He's in his tent right now, sleeping. Ling and I will stand guard outside his tent while you take care of him. Chien Po will stay and guard the palace."

The three men stealthily crept through the camp. While his two accomplices stood guard, Fa Zhou silently entered the unsuspecting official's tent. He put the tip of his sword under General Li's chin, who's eyes popped open and widened when he recognized his assailant.

"Did you beat and rape my daughter repeatedly?"

The general reached for his own sword, but Fa Zhou had already silently passed it to Yao.

"Answer me!" The tip of the sword bit into General Li's neck, and blood began to run down onto his bedding. At the man's silence, the sword tip was pushed even deeper, and the arterial blood flowed heavily onto his bed.

"Yes, I did. She snuck into the army even though women are forbidden here and I kept her alive when I could have killed her. That was the cost of secrecy for her."

"You bastard! That was my daughter, my flesh and blood, that you raised your fist to and forced yourself on! You will pay for that! I am known as China's fiercest warrior and this will not go unavenged!"

Fa Zhou raised his sword and, in one move, ran it through the general's heart. Finally, his daughter's assailant was dead and she was vindicated.

Outside the tent, he bowed and saluted to Yao and Ling.

"My family is grateful to you for helping me take revenge. Give my gratitude to Chien Po, for I must be going immediately."

The two men returned the salute and bowed, then returned to their post.

When the general's death was discovered in the morning, they claimed to know nothing about who had killed him.

Back at home that evening, Fa Zhou told his family how he had confronted and killed the general after he had admitted to repeatedly beating and raping Mulan.

"It's over, Mulan. General Li is dead."

Mulan sobbed in her father's arms until she was so exhausted she fell asleep. Her mother and grandmother woke her and walked her to her grandmother's bed for the night.

The next day, Grandma Fa walked to the village and came home with Dong Quai, an abortion herb. Mulan took it as the village healer had instructed and by the next evening she was no longer carrying the general's child.

A month later, Yao came to visit. Mulan was comforted by the sight of her friend.

Later that same day, Yao asked Fa Zhou for permission to marry Mulan. There was no one else he would rather have her marry.

A week later, they were married.

Mulan would never fully move past what the general did to her, but with Yao and her family by her side, she slowly began to heal.


End file.
